Penn Football Standout To Get Opportunity With Green Bay

Antonio Brown (7) during his senior year at William Penn University.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The football field at the Lacey Complex feels more like a fall day when football is in the air. For one William Penn University football player, the dream of going on past his college career took one more step closer towards reality.

Antonio Brown was captain of the Statesmen for the past two years, and he watched to see if his name would come up during the recent NFL draft. He had done all the right things, and spoke with many teams. Brown spoke with approximately 20 teams in an effort to move on to the next level.

Before the draft, Brown had conversations with the Jets, Browns, and the Chargers. There was some talk about potentially drafting Brown in the later rounds, or even going undrafted, because of his age.

Ultimately, his name was never called during the draft.

Brown is in good company though; William Penn football legend and currently the best defensive tackle in the NFL, Damon Harrison, ended the day undrafted as well.

Brown found his way to Oskaloosa and William Penn after playing a year for Missouri State in Division I football.

Becoming a team captain in his junior year, Brown says he knew he needed to step-up and play a big role as defensive back. “I’ve always had to push myself as hard as I could, and I just tried to achieve a big goal which was to win as a team.”

When his senior season came to an end Brown took two days off, but once again returned to working-out daily.

Brown met an agent, who he feels confident in, and said that it “just kind of went from there.”

Now, Brown is headed to the Green Bay Packers after signing an undrafted free agent contract and will check into the rookie meeting camp this Thursday.

Even now, Brown is having a hard time believing he will have an opportunity to make the team. “It’s just a big dream from the big goal I always wanted to achieve.”

Brown thanked William Penn Head Coach Todd Hafner for taking him in after he had been off and out of football for those years.

Brown had been out of college and football for three years, while he took care of his mother who was battling cancer. Ultimately Brown’s mother passed away from the disease. “And I didn’t have any other school to go to,” Brown said. “Coach Haf was willing to give me an opportunity to play football again… He had never seen me, never heard of me, he just accepted me.”

“I was really in school to graduate,” Brown continued. “Football was just there. I was a student first before I was an athlete. I was trying to take advantage of that.”

Brown understood that making the NFL would be difficult from a smaller school like William Penn. A lack of exposure makes it tougher to get noticed.

“This opportunity wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for Tyler Sash. He’s one of the main reasons that I ended up in Oskaloosa,” added Brown. “He told me everything about William Penn and in my first year, I lived with him.”

For William Penn Head Coach Todd Hafner, he’s always happy to see his players find success. “It’s so exciting. It’s so cool for our program. It doesn’t happen to NAIA schools like it does to us.”

Hafner remembers talking with Brown, who was looking for an opportunity to get back in school and to play football after his mother had passed away. “He just needed a second chance.”

Giving students and athletes a second chance has been a hallmark of William Penn. Maybe bad choices had caused an athlete to lose a scholarship at a bigger school, but with Brown, he wasn’t in trouble; he had just been away from the game and school.

“When they are good kids, it just makes that second chance so much easier,” added Hafner.

Hafner knew that the education was important for Brown; who not only took care of his sick mother, but was forced into the labor force doing work he didn’t really want to do. “It really gave him an eye-opening experience”, said Hafner.

With that taste of life without a degree, Brown was excited for the opportunity. “Fortunately for us, he decided he still wanted to play football, because he turned out to be one of the best football players on our team,” added Hafner.

William Penn has now sent three players to the NFL since 2012. Damon Harrison, Nick DeMarco and now Antonio Brown.

Hafner says there aren’t many NAIA players that get the opportunity to get drafted, but for us, fortunately, “we have a pretty good track record of talent. When you have someone like Damon, who goes through it and makes it, then the scouts start coming through.”

Hafner is a Green Bay Packer fan, so for him, “the whole thing feels even better. He’s a Packer fan too, so he’s excited about just the opporunity to go be with those guys.”

“He’s going to do great”, said Hafner. “We are super proud of him.”

[Additional editing by Ginger Allsup]